“Thinking about this year as a whole—it’s a hard year. And to say that it’s not a hard year would not be doing our diligence as a district,” Coppell ISD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction Dr. Angie Applegate said during Monday night’s Coppell ISD Board of Trustees meeting. 

On Monday night, the CISD Board of Trustees shared a number of district updates on COVID-19 and social-emotional learning and recognized students and teachers for their work. Applegate addressed Applegate the district’s social-emotional learning program, which partly aims to support students and staff and develop intervention methods when necessary. 

“I think that we have to have those difficult conversations where we can be open and honest and share how everyone’s feeling,” Applegate said. “In education, it’s like walking in every day to Disney World. And we’re going to put on the happy face and we’re going to do what we do for kids because that’s what we do.”

The board also recognized Coppell High School debate director Dr. Jason Sykes for being inducted into Texas Forensic Association Hall of Fame. Sykes and the CHS varsity debate team were also featured earlier this year by WFAA Channel 8 for their response to the first presidential debate. CHS IB math teacher Ian VanderSchee was selected for the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator award, nominated by former student and CHS 2020 graduate Dwija Dammanna.

Furthermore, thanks to the efforts of fine arts coordinator Gerry Miller, Lakeside Elementary art teacher Cacey Narez and Coppell Middle School West art teacher Gail Cary, the Texas Art Educators Association selected CISD as one of the 42 Texas school districts to become a 2020 District of Distinction for Visual Arts. The board also recognized CISD principals and human resources employees for National Principals Month and Texas Education Human Resources Day, which are October and Oct. 14 respectively.

CISD has also received the highest score possible by FIRST, the state’s financial accountability rating. More information on the district’s budget and a breakdown of the transparency indicators can be found on the district’s website.

During the board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt shared updates on how the district has been handling COVID-19. The IT department has seen a marked increase in iPad repair tickets due to the pandemic, but has also been able to resolve tickets rapidly without staff increase. Elementary school learners can receive a free lunch until the end of the school year, a difference from the original policy that only served students until December. The district is also working to decrease the number of bus routes to save on costs without affecting families.

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